Preview — The Amazing Bone
by William Steig

The Amazing Bone

It's a bright and beautiful spring day, and Pearl, a pig, is dawdling on her way home from school. Most unexpectedly, she strikes up an acquaintance with a small bone. "You talk?" says Pearl. "In any language," says the bone. "And I can imitate any sound there is." (Its former owner was a witch.) Pearl and the bone immediately take a liking to each other, and before you knIt's a bright and beautiful spring day, and Pearl, a pig, is dawdling on her way home from school. Most unexpectedly, she strikes up an acquaintance with a small bone. "You talk?" says Pearl. "In any language," says the bone. "And I can imitate any sound there is." (Its former owner was a witch.) Pearl and the bone immediately take a liking to each other, and before you know it she is on her way home with the bone in her purse, left open so they can continue their conversation. Won't her parents be surprised when she introduces her talking bone!

But before that happy moment comes, the resourceful bone must deal with a band of highway robbers in Halloween masks and, worse, a fox who decides that Pearl will be his main course at dinner that night. And deal it does, with gambits droll and thrilling.

William Steig, incomparable master of the contemporary picture book, has never been better than in The Amazing Bone.

The Amazing Bone is a 1976 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1977 Caldecott Honor Book, and a 1977 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Picture Books....more

Community Reviews

Pearl, a young pig, is wandering around after school, daydreaming and enjoying nature, when she happens to meet... a bone. A friendly, talkative bone who has escaped from a grumpy witch and is looking for a better home. Pearl and the bone quickly make friends, but will friendship be enough to get them safely through the dangerous woods?

“The Amazing Bone” is another classic from William Steig and is also the most dramatic book due to the main character being put into peril in a number of cases. William Steig’s hand-drawn illustrations and his intense yet soothing storytelling makes this book an instant treat to enjoy.

“The Amazing Bone” sets the perfect storyline about the power of friendship and the dangers of the outside world to a child. William Steig dramatically tells how some strangers are dangerous to children by depictin

“The Amazing Bone” is another classic from William Steig and is also the most dramatic book due to the main character being put into peril in a number of cases. William Steig’s hand-drawn illustrations and his intense yet soothing storytelling makes this book an instant treat to enjoy.

“The Amazing Bone” sets the perfect storyline about the power of friendship and the dangers of the outside world to a child. William Steig dramatically tells how some strangers are dangerous to children by depicting a young pig that meets many dangerous strangers in the woods and nearly has died on both accounts. William Steig’s storytelling also brilliantly depicts of how important it is to walk home with somebody who will protect you, such as the bone coming along with Pearl and protecting her from all the dangerous strangers she has met. Another main aspect of this book is William Steig’s beautiful illustrations, as he illustrates the forest and the flowers with many vibrant colors that make the forest look beautiful and realistic.

Parents should know that there are many intense scenes in this book, such as Pearl being harassed by three robbers who threaten to kill her if she did not hand over her purse and the fox kidnapping Pearl and taking her to his hideaway so that he could cook Pearl into a main course dinner. Since many children today are being harassed and kidnapped by unsuspecting strangers, this book may be too much for children to handle and parents should try to explain to their children that it is always good to travel with someone if one does not know the place very well, so that the person will try their best to protect the child from any danger.

“The Amazing Bone” is a wonderful experience for children to see how it is dangerous to walk in an unsuspecting place alone and how friendship is strong enough to conquer the most dangerous criminals. This book is probably one of William Steig’s most notable books due to it winning a Caldecott Honor Medal and this book does deserve that medal. Even though this book is a treat for many children, parents may want to talk to their children about strangers before reading them this book.

This is the kind of book that William Steig consistently creates better than almost anybody else. It's a picture book, yes, but it's built on a subtly intellectual foundation, and it's a completely told story, smoothly unfolding from beginning to end.

I can certainly see how The Amazing Bone would have received official attention from the Caldecott committee in 1977. The artwork in the book is some of William Steig's finest, coating the pages with rich color and a kind of life that seems to pra This is the kind of book that William Steig consistently creates better than almost anybody else. It's a picture book, yes, but it's built on a subtly intellectual foundation, and it's a completely told story, smoothly unfolding from beginning to end.

I can certainly see how The Amazing Bone would have received official attention from the Caldecott committee in 1977. The artwork in the book is some of William Steig's finest, coating the pages with rich color and a kind of life that seems to practically move with the story. The narrative is well-imagined and humorous, with a few striking points that will remain in the reader's mind well after reading the book.

The format of The Amazing Bone reminds me of a combination of two other William Steig books, Zeke Pippin and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Pearl goes out into the forest one day and happens upon a small, magical bone that can somehow actually speak. The bone belonged to a witch, it informs Pearl, and aside from its ability to speak (in multiple languages, no less), it is also capable of mimicking virtually any sound it hears.

When Pearl and her magic speaking bone are captured by a malicious fox, it takes more than cunning to free them both from a terrible fate in the creature's vulpine belly; it takes a different talent that the bone has, one that it didn't even know it possessed, to level out the playing field and give Pearl and her unusual companion a chance to win.

This is a very good book, in my opinion. William Steig's writing hits the mark as always, delivering lines that are both thoughtful and surprisingly comical. One of my personal favorites is when the fox first spots the talking bone, and says, "A talking bone. I've always wanted to own something of this sort." I would give two and a half stars to The Amazing Bone. ...more

Kids books, like any kind of literature, can vary widely, but, let's face it, most of them are shit. Then, every once in a while you find one that is supremely challenging to everything that you thought possible in kids' literature and literature and general. Something that tears down assumptions of what is trope and what is not, something that breaks downs the very thin border between surrealism and children's literature, something that in its sheer lunacy transcends the hazy line separating huKids books, like any kind of literature, can vary widely, but, let's face it, most of them are shit. Then, every once in a while you find one that is supremely challenging to everything that you thought possible in kids' literature and literature and general. Something that tears down assumptions of what is trope and what is not, something that breaks downs the very thin border between surrealism and children's literature, something that in its sheer lunacy transcends the hazy line separating human from deity. The Amazing Bone is one of these books.Pearl the pig dawdles her way home. In the forest she lazes about savoring nature and declaring "I love everything!". Then she hears a voice expressing the same sentiment. It is the bone, a talking bone that had escaped from the clutches of an evil witch. The bone, it tells her, is able to replicate every human language and every known sound. Pearl loves the bone dearly, and it loves her. On the way home, they are set upon by highwaymen who literally press their guns to Pearl's forehead and demand her cash until the bone imitates the sound of ferocious beasts and scares them off. A fucking sadistic fox finds her next and, embracing her, abducts her to his home to eat her. The bone has no effect on him. Pearl, she tells the bone, has just begun to live and does not want to die. The bone says they will perish together, the best of friends. As the fox plus cutlery descends upon her, the bone begins speaking in tongues transforming the fox into a mouse-sized fox and they escape. He learned this subconsciously from the witch, says the bone. And all is well.This is such a damn wacky book that it is hard to compare with anything or characterize as anything other than the sort of thing the discerning reader would expect to find in the words of Soupault or Lautreaumont, perhaps?...more

I read this book for a "Gardening and Literature" class I took for my MA degree at the University of Maine. The class itself was really unique in that we discussed our readings while planting a labyrinth garden on University grounds. This particular book was part of our children's lit. reads, and was fun to explore as an adult reader. Ultimately, this story is a very typical fairy tale. It reads like a combination of the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Singing Bone" and "Little Red Riding Hood" - the piI read this book for a "Gardening and Literature" class I took for my MA degree at the University of Maine. The class itself was really unique in that we discussed our readings while planting a labyrinth garden on University grounds. This particular book was part of our children's lit. reads, and was fun to explore as an adult reader. Ultimately, this story is a very typical fairy tale. It reads like a combination of the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Singing Bone" and "Little Red Riding Hood" - the pig, Pearl, finds a singing bone and, on her way home, comes across a big bad wolf who intends to devour them but is outwitted by the bone. ...more

This is a very strange story. We listened to it being narrated on audiocassette by John Lithgow as we followed along with the book, and with his amazing storytelling skills, we were transfixed by the story. After we listened to it, I read it again and realized that it really is a very strange tale. Overall, though, the illustrations are great, the story is entertaining and we really enjoyed the audio version of this book.

While I did enjoy looking at the bright and cheery (for the most part) pictures of this book, I was a little dismayed at this story line. It seemed awfully convenient the way things worked out, and it was terribly random. I'm not sure I'd recommend this book, it was slightly strange and a little bit weird.

This book was kind of weird. I gave it three stars because my son seemed to enjoy it, but personally I felt it deserved only two.

A pig finds a talking bone. Robbers try to steal it from her--the illustration shows them with a gun to her head! Then a fox steals it and attempts to cook and eat the pig, but of course the pig and bone escape. The ending is nothing special.

I'm not entirely sure why I didn't like this book very much. I honestly wanted to. Perhaps the fact that it was a bone that was talking kind of threw me off. Given a world where every animal is sentient, it feels too much like this bone isn't just a harmless animal bone, it's SOMEONE who is determined to continue to have a part in society regardless of um...life challenges?

I liked the attitude of the little girl - how much she loves life. I like how plucky she is, but wishing she'd fight harderI'm not entirely sure why I didn't like this book very much. I honestly wanted to. Perhaps the fact that it was a bone that was talking kind of threw me off. Given a world where every animal is sentient, it feels too much like this bone isn't just a harmless animal bone, it's SOMEONE who is determined to continue to have a part in society regardless of um...life challenges?

I liked the attitude of the little girl - how much she loves life. I like how plucky she is, but wishing she'd fight harder at the end. Can this book be used to talk about stranger danger and maybe what SHOULD she have done (yelled, made a lot of noise, run, fought...something?) when she was taken away? Or even to discuss her wandering off by herself to a very isolated place where no one knew where she was.

Maybe that's the part that creeped me out in this story - how easy it was for the child to be taken. Today's world is very different from the one when this book was written. What was innocent fun years ago in story doesn't feel like innocent or fun to me today. Which is sad, because this should have just been an entertaining story but instead it hits far too close to home....more

Move over Maurice Sendak, Steig could have shown you one or two things about how to frighten a child with the words and illustrations of his book!

Cute little Pink Pig Pearl wanders in the forest on an absolutely perfect day. Finding a talking bone, she is not frightened, but rather is amused and puts the bone in her purse to carry home.

Traveling home she comes upon three nasty mask wearing critters with guns and knives. One image shows the evil masked critter places the gun right next to Pearl'sMove over Maurice Sendak, Steig could have shown you one or two things about how to frighten a child with the words and illustrations of his book!

Cute little Pink Pig Pearl wanders in the forest on an absolutely perfect day. Finding a talking bone, she is not frightened, but rather is amused and puts the bone in her purse to carry home.

Traveling home she comes upon three nasty mask wearing critters with guns and knives. One image shows the evil masked critter places the gun right next to Pearl's head. When the bone growled and then hissed like a snake, the near do wells hurry to flee.

A short time later, Pearl meets a dandy Fox, wearing a suit and leering with his sharp teeth. Unafraid of the bone and Pearl, he escorts them to his raggle taggle house where he intends to eat Polly. Again, there are more images of sharp knives and imminent danger.

The bone uses magic words to shrink the fox and he fled into a mouse hole.

Pearls parents, who were worried about her, are happy to see her home. Pearl and the bone are welcomed and live happy ever after.

Interesting to note, and not surprising to learn, this book is on a banned list because of the terror, violence and images of guns and knives....more

I first read this book in college when we had to read 40 Caldecott books as part of our children's lit class. Best assignment ever! I remember writing that this book might be scary to little kids.

What I did not remember was how incredibly wordy this book is. This is the story of Pearl, a little pig who finds a talking bone. When she is practically mugged by creepy guys with guns and masks, the bone scares them away. It is not so successful when a mean fox comes. HeAll right, where do I start...

I first read this book in college when we had to read 40 Caldecott books as part of our children's lit class. Best assignment ever! I remember writing that this book might be scary to little kids.

What I did not remember was how incredibly wordy this book is. This is the story of Pearl, a little pig who finds a talking bone. When she is practically mugged by creepy guys with guns and masks, the bone scares them away. It is not so successful when a mean fox comes. He almost cooks Pearl for his dinner! But then the bone does magic and he shrinks and runs away.

Was it a good book? Sure. My kids were pretty into it, which was especially exciting because it was the last 10 minutes of the day, at which point they have normally boarded the train for crazy town. It just had so many words per page, though, so they would stare at each page for like 5 minutes while I read the extreme amount of dialogue.

It was good although I'm not sure that I would read it to a classroom again....more

2. The Amazing Bone by William Steig is an adorable story about a pig named Pearl who finds several surprises on her journey home from school from a talking bone to robbers.

3. Critique

a. The Amazing Bone is a wonderful book , I loved not only reading this book but I loved the colorful illustrations in the book.

b. The Amazing Bone relates to children in my opinion by expressing the theme " grownups" at the beginning of the book. Right then children can rel

1. The genre : Traditional Literature

2. The Amazing Bone by William Steig is an adorable story about a pig named Pearl who finds several surprises on her journey home from school from a talking bone to robbers.

3. Critique

a. The Amazing Bone is a wonderful book , I loved not only reading this book but I loved the colorful illustrations in the book.

b. The Amazing Bone relates to children in my opinion by expressing the theme " grownups" at the beginning of the book. Right then children can relate to the story. I love the use of animals as people in the story.There are some themes in the story that are quite classic that shows the signs of the times for example the book mentions the use of tobacco and even robbers with guns . You would not find these politically un-correct things in current children's literature . I loved the fact that it mentioned these things however , because I think we shield our children way too much today. I love how Pearl was in the forest imagining things and getting lost in the scenery . It was a moment in the book that all ages can relate too , walking through a park or any natural scene and getting lost in its beauty and then reality hits us. That is what happens to Pearl the reality of her outside world hits when robbers in Halloween masks demands that she gives her purse to them . Then she encounters the sly fox and then her defender shows up the talking bone who saves her. I would recommend this book for readers through preschool - 4th grade. This is a classic book . I loved the colorful illustrations in the book and they related well with the story text.

c. The Amazing Bone is what this book is about . Pearl meets her knight but it is a bone. A simple but amazing bone.

Evaluation ; This is a great book and I love the theme . Even as an adult I could relate to Pearl from her journey to the park and being back into reality the big bad world. I think this book is a reflection on the world in which children lived in the late 1970s when we realized that children was not safe from the bad world. ...more

This book, which I think is most appropriately written for an audience of fourth grade or older, was a 1977 Caldecott Honor Book. The main character, Pearl, a piglet, dawdles on the way home from school, and after finding a magic bone, is caught by a fox. The fox threatens Pearl and the bone, then takes Pearl back to his house, intending to eat her for dinner! The bone saves the day, and Pearl takes the bone home where it earns a loving place among her family. The beautiful pastel illustrations This book, which I think is most appropriately written for an audience of fourth grade or older, was a 1977 Caldecott Honor Book. The main character, Pearl, a piglet, dawdles on the way home from school, and after finding a magic bone, is caught by a fox. The fox threatens Pearl and the bone, then takes Pearl back to his house, intending to eat her for dinner! The bone saves the day, and Pearl takes the bone home where it earns a loving place among her family. The beautiful pastel illustrations which soothe and delight the reader, contrast starkly with the scary story of Pearl's abduction and impending death. In fact, the story was slightly disturbing to me, as I thought the topic was frightening, and some children may not react favorably. The theme of helplessness was especially unsettling to me. I appreciate the dramatic rescue from the bone, with the magic words learned from the witch. The short fairy-tale ending assured young audiences of rescue, which I am not sure is a correct message to send. The story can be used to discuss wandering away alone, and contact with strangers and threats of abduction. Likewise, Pearl's generous actions toward the bone were repaid when she was in need. This is certainly not one of my favorite books, but I greatly appreciate the illustrations....more

The Amazing Bone is a story about a pig that finds a talking bone in the forest. She picks up the bone and takes the bone home with her. On her journey home, she encounters robbers that have pistols. They want her purse and the pig will not give them her purse because her bone is in her purse. So the bone pretends to be a snake and the robbers run off. Later, she encounters a sly fox that is not fooled by the boTitle: The Amazing Bone

Author: William Steig

Recommended Ages or grades: Preschool - 7

The Amazing Bone is a story about a pig that finds a talking bone in the forest. She picks up the bone and takes the bone home with her. On her journey home, she encounters robbers that have pistols. They want her purse and the pig will not give them her purse because her bone is in her purse. So the bone pretends to be a snake and the robbers run off. Later, she encounters a sly fox that is not fooled by the bone; rather he is amused by it. The fox wants to eat the pig for his dinner so he takes her home to cook her. While he is preparing to cook the pig, the bone says some magical words and the fox shrinks down to the size of a mouse. The pig put the bone back into her purse and walks home to share her adventures and her new friend with her parents.

I thought this book was okay, not one of my favorites. The storyline was interesting.

Pearl, a young pig, is wandering around after school, daydreaming and enjoying nature, when she happens to meet... a bone. A friendly, talkative bone who has escaped from a grumpy witch and is looking for a better home. This story is very cute and I enjoy the drawings. Although they are older looking, they are very into detail and the book even won an award. I would use this in my classroom for an activity with bones maybe or they can go on a scavenger hunt.

I really did not know how to feel about this book. For most of it I was just laughing at the silliness of the story. However, the reason I gave it two stars was some of the situations Pearl, main character, faced. At one point she was getting robbed and was held at gunpoint. What's worse is that the picture showed it happening! That was one of the moments of disbelief that I had to just chuckle at. Not one I would put out for my young readers.

I will tell the students that the book we are about to read has a part to it about language. I would ask my students if they, too, are multilingual and provide an opportunity for them to demonstrate their language skills to their classmates.

After reading the book we could together as a class learn a few words in a new language.

This was an odd book. It reminded me of an early Grimm Brothers story in the way that it was a bit gruesome and scary, but as far as I know it was original. It won a 1977 Caldecott Honor award. Pearl is young pig returning from school on a beautiful spring day, when she decides to enjoy nature for awhile. She finds a talking bone under a tree doing the exact same thing. The bone can talk in multiple languages and can imitate any sound on earth. Pearl decides to take the bone home with her and onThis was an odd book. It reminded me of an early Grimm Brothers story in the way that it was a bit gruesome and scary, but as far as I know it was original. It won a 1977 Caldecott Honor award. Pearl is young pig returning from school on a beautiful spring day, when she decides to enjoy nature for awhile. She finds a talking bone under a tree doing the exact same thing. The bone can talk in multiple languages and can imitate any sound on earth. Pearl decides to take the bone home with her and on the way, she runs into some robbers who are quickly scared away by the bone. Then she runs into a crafty fox, who is not scared of the bone and plans to take Pearl to his home and eat her. It is only through some quick thinking by the bone that they manage to escape and the bone has a treasured place in Pearl's home. Recommended for ages 8-12, 3 stars. ...more

A little pig happens upon a magic, talking bone while walking in the forest. Having been dropped out of a witch's basket, the bone longs for new adventures with the little pig...and that it gets! The two become a cunning and powerful duo, fooling and tricking robbers and wolves who meet them while walking home.

The Amazing Bone won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1977 which I believe deserved the award for its originality and pastel illustrations. As I was reading the story I was in shock of how mature I felt the story and images were. I especially felt the page with guns and knives was a bit too much for young age children which is why I would not share this book with a child below third grade, possibly even fourth grade depending on how mature the kids are. I do think this book would be a good opener whThe Amazing Bone won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1977 which I believe deserved the award for its originality and pastel illustrations. As I was reading the story I was in shock of how mature I felt the story and images were. I especially felt the page with guns and knives was a bit too much for young age children which is why I would not share this book with a child below third grade, possibly even fourth grade depending on how mature the kids are. I do think this book would be a good opener when teaching kids to never go somewhere alone as there are bad people out there that may try to hurt them or take them. This lesson may be scary for kids to think about someone trying to hurt them or take them but this story could help because of the ending of the story when she gets home safely with her family. ...more

Kind of violent and morbid for younger kids. A robber holds a gun to Pearl the pig's head. Then when she thinks the fox is going to eat her, she says, "I'm only just beginning to live...I don't want it to end." Dark. Overall did not really appeal to me even to come back to when my daughter is older.

I've read a number of William Steig's books with my 5th grade students, so I'm looking forward to sharing this with them as well. Witty and charming illustrations go along with a story of happiness and courage. I'll be interested to see the connections my student make to the other Steig books we've read.

I do not like this book. Having a bone as a friend and companion is very weird. Even though I love good fairy tales, this book had some very creepy scenes in it. After having read the wonderful book "Dr. DeSoto" reading this book was very disappointing. I would not buy this book for my child.

I was not necessarily a fan of this book. It was just boring and so unrealistic. I don't know of anyone who would want a bone as an imaginary friend. But the story is of a pig that comes across a talking bone, she befriends the bone and it protects her. She comes across animals that want to eat her and at first the bone works then the pig encounters a fox and the bone can't scare him away so he takes her home to eat her. In the end the bone puts a sThe Amazing BoneBy: William SteigAge group: P-7

I was not necessarily a fan of this book. It was just boring and so unrealistic. I don't know of anyone who would want a bone as an imaginary friend. But the story is of a pig that comes across a talking bone, she befriends the bone and it protects her. She comes across animals that want to eat her and at first the bone works then the pig encounters a fox and the bone can't scare him away so he takes her home to eat her. In the end the bone puts a spell on the fox and shrinks him and she goes home to tell her family about it and they all end up happy with their new family member, a bone. I would only recommend this to a child that likes exaggerated fairy tales. It's a mix of New Orleans meets little red riding hood. ...more

William Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.

He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.

Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, FarmerWilliam Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.

He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.

Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer Palmer, Abel, Pearl, Gorky, Solomon, and Irene eventually get home, their families are all waiting, and beginning with Amos and Boris, friendship is celebrated in story after story.

“Later she sat on the ground in the forest between school and home, and spring was so bright and beautiful, the warm air touched her so tenderly, she could almost feel herself changing into a flower. Her light dress felt like petals."I love everything," she heard herself say."So do I," a voice answered.Pearl straightened up and looked around. No one was there.”
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